iPhone 5 – Putting the Rumors and Leaks To The Test

Photos of the alleged backside of Apple’s iPhone 5 leaked earlier this week on May 29th and, then, a day later, the alleged schematics for the same device also spilled out to the Web. The iPhone 5 back panels looked convincing: We saw the rumored new charging port on the bottom of the phone, as well as the relocated 3.5mm headphone jack. The schematics were even more compelling. We saw, for the first time, the alleged plans that were used to create the bodies published a day earlier. Better yet, the image was stamped with Apple’s name on the bottom. That is, by no means, a reason to believe the sketches are legitimate, but they are highly detailed and, as we discovered, match the leaked backsides perfectly.

We decided to take all of the leaked information we’ve seen so far and investigate each part, piece by piece. Surprisingly, we were able to build and render an image of, what we believe to be, the iPhone 5 from all of this data. There is a caveat, of course. Someone, somewhere, could have drafted up the schematics and a manufacturer could have used those plans to build the leaked back parts we saw this week. That seems like an expensive and intricate endeavor with no true purpose, however. Worse, it would mean that every seemingly legitimate leak we’ve seen is fake.

Without further ado, let’s dive in and, for the first time, take a look at what the iPhone 5 will look like, based on the leaked materials.

iPhone 5 Leaked Schematic

I flattened, scaled, and printed the above leaked iPhone 5 schematic and compared it with an iPhone 4S as well as an iPhone 4 schematic. I then printed out similar schematics for the iPhone 4S, which you’ll see comparisons with below.

iPhone 5 Schematic Comparison

If this schematic is correct, then it does show that the iPhone 5 will have a height increase of around 0.3 inches, bumping it up to around 4.8 inches from the iPhone 4S height of 4.5 inches. The screen also appears to have a diagonal increase of around 0.5 inches, bumping it up to around 4 inches from the current diagonal measurement of 3.5 inches.

iPhone 5 Parts Leak

This is one of the photos of some iPhone 5 parts that have been leaked. If the above leaked schematic is overlayed and compared with the leak, it appears to line up correctly:

In the instance above, you can see that I’ve overlaid the schematic on top of both the screen and the body. Both match up perfectly. Taking that into consideration, I decided to build a render of what the iPhone 5 might look like in comparison to the current generation iPhone 4S.

iPhone 5 Rough Mock Up

Based on the schematic and measurements above, here is a scaled render of what the iPhone 5 might potentially look like:

The new dimensions are clearly visible in our render above, so we decided to bring it to life. The above mockup was then printed to scale and compared with a real iPhone 4S:

Contrary to arguments that the iPhone 5 will be too big if Apple decides to increase the screen size, we found that it should be rather palm friendly. Below is a photo that will roughy illustrated how the iPhone 5 will fit into your hands:

iPhone 5 Full Front Mock Up

The larger rumored 4.0 inch screen coupled with the rumored 1136 x 640 resolution provided an increased pixel height of 176 pixels. As rumors have suggested, this height increase appears to allow for an additional row of icons at the bottom. Or, if iOS 6 permits, perhaps it will allow room for widgets. We’ll know more about that after WWDC later this month. I also decided to take this a step further and render a picture of what the new homescreen will look like. You can see that below.

Here’s the mockup of the iPhone 5’s homescreen

If we take that and compare it to to the iPhone 4’s homescreen you’ll see the large amount of added pixel space. In the below image the iPhone 5 mockup has a 1136 x 640-pixel screen resolution while the iPhone 4 has its standard 960 x 640-pixel resolution homescreen.

How about a better render comparison? Here is the iPhone 5 mockup in comparison to the iPhone 4. Again, you’ll note the clearly visible height increase, and the renders were made with the exact specifications taken from the leaked schematics and body parts above.

The above mockups were once again printed to scale and compared with a real iPhone 4S:

The above image shows the iPhone 4 in my hand. Below are photos of a cut-out version of the scaled iPhone 5 mockup:

As you can see from what we’ve discovered, an iPhone 5 with a larger home screen isn’t only plausible, it’s completely possible with the dimensions that have already been spilled on the web. Those dimensions have allowed us to create a replica of the new iPhone.

As a forum poster with The Verge explained recently, it’s entirely possible for Apple to launch this phone without upsetting developers. Much like when it launched the new iPad, there will be a bit of space around some applications that are not optimized for the new real estate at first. The pixel density and ratio of the graphics is the same, however; there’s just an additional 176px worth of height.

There you have it folks, that’s a look at the iPhone 5. There are two sides to every story. This render either means that we’ve discovered and built an accurate render of the new iPhone 5, or that every leaked part and schematic we’ve seen so far is fake. We’re leaning towards the former.

Print Your Own Life Size iPhone 5

Curious to see what our iPhone 5 render would look like in real life? Simply download our printable portrait or landscape versions of the mockup and see for yourself! The dimension of the printables are standard 8.5″ x 11″.

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Jon Quach is known on the web, primarily on YouTube, for his abstract, creative, and often humorous presentation of Technology. Unlike traditional...Jon Quach is known on the web, primarily on YouTube, for his abstract, creative, and often humorous presentation of Technology. Unlike traditional...